Department for Transport

Department for Transport: EU Law

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government how many items of retained EU law they propose to (1) repeal, (2) amend, or (3) replace, as part of the proposed Brexit Freedoms Bill by (a) primary legislation, and (b) secondary legislation, within the remit of the Department for Transport.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has introduced the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, which will end the special status of ‘retained EU law’ and ensure that it can be easily amended or removed. My Department is in the process of fully considering how to best use our legislative freedom outside of the EU, including exploring options for pieces of retained EU Law, in preparation for the Bill.

Railways: Freight

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of digital rail freight technologies in the UK freight network.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The adoption of digital technologies, along with targeted conventional interventions, is a cost-effective way to potentially release additional capacity on the existing network.Under the Future of Freight plan, the government has committed £7 million to the Freight Innovation Fund to drive the commercialisation of technology, including digital, across all freight modes. It has also provided early stage research and development funding through Transport Research and Innovation Grants (TRIG), the latest awards included funding to develop a web platform for short notice freight train wagon booking to maximise freight capacity.Government is also encouraging further innovation through the First of a Kind scheme. This year, bids were invited to address a range of potential challenges, including those where digital technologies could provide solutions, such as timetabling and scheduling, routing and tracking, automation of freight handling and modal interchanges, and asset maintenance.

Shipping: Carbon Emissions

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the goal by the International Maritime Organisation to reduce carbon emissions by 70 per cent by 2050.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The UK is committed to addressing international shipping emissions through the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The UK played a key role in negotiating the 2018 Initial IMO Strategy on the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships, including pursuing efforts towards a 70 per cent improvement by 2050. Ahead of the revision of the IMO GHG Strategy in 2023, we are working to build consensus to raise ambitions consistent with a Paris-aligned, 1.5-degree pathway. That is why we are championing a 2050 target of zero emissions for international shipping.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Carbon Capture and Storage

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask His Majesty's Government what provision they are making for carbon capture and storage within the UK’s exclusive economic zone; and when those facilities will be available.

Lord Callanan: As set out in the 10 Point Plan, Government ambition is to establish four CCS clusters by 2030 at the latest. As later set out in the Net Zero Strategy, Government’s aim is to use CCUS technology to capture and store 20-30 MtCO2 per year by 2030.

Energy Bill Relief Scheme

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to extend the Energy Bill Relief Scheme beyond 31 March 2023 if prices have not returned to 2021 levels; and if so, how much notice of the extension will be given.

Lord Callanan: The Government announced its intention to introduce an Energy Bill Relief Scheme, for six months, from 1 October 2022. The announcement committed to carrying out a review of the operation of the scheme in order to inform decisions on future support after March 2023. The findings of the review will be published by January 2023.

Nuclear Power

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expand theshare of energy produced by nuclear in the next year.

Lord Callanan: The Government has been in constructive negotiations on the Sizewell C project since January 2021 and aims to take a final investment decision in 2023, subject to all relevant approvals. The British Energy Security Strategy announced the Government’s ambition of reaching up to 24GW of nuclear power by 2050. The Strategy also announced the Great British Nuclear (GBN) vehicle, which will be tasked with helping projects through every stage of the development process and developing a resilient pipeline of new build projects. This will be launched later this year.

Green Deal Scheme

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to open up the Green Deal to businesses.

Lord Callanan: The Green Deal framework, introduced in 2013, remains in place to enable loans to pay for energy efficiency improvements in the domestic sector and to service existing Green Deal loans and any private finance providers wishing to enter the market. The scheme therefore is already open to business as participants, although the level of activity under the scheme is very low. In addition, support is available to help businesses to reduce their carbon and energy bills through the Climate Change Agreements Scheme, which provides reduced Climate Change Levy rates worth £255 million a year for eligible businesses in return for meeting energy efficiency targets and grants via the £289 million Industrial Energy Transformation Fund. The Government has also announced support to help businesses, charities and public sector organisations with energy costs this winter through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.

Department for Education

Teachers: Training

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsupport they are providing to facilitate diversity and anti-racist professional learning for school teachers.

Baroness Barran: All teachers are expected to treat everyone fairly. The department wants teaching to be an inclusive profession where talented teachers from all backgrounds are supported throughout their career journeys.All teachers must satisfy the Teachers’ Standards throughout their careers. To be awarded qualified teacher status (QTS), trainees must demonstrate that they meet all of the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level, including Teacher Standard One, which requires teachers to have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils and set goals that stretch and challenge young people of all backgrounds and abilities. Part Two of the Teachers’ Standards is also clear that teachers must treat all pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect and show tolerance and respect for the rights of others.Once teachers achieve QTS, they enter into two years of funded support through the early career framework, which requires early career teachers to be trained and supported to develop their understanding of maintaining fair and inclusive school environments.Beyond training, school leaders are responsible for ensuring their workforce has appropriate training to meet the needs of all pupils, which is in line with the department’s position on school autonomy and school leaders being best placed to assess the needs of their pupils and workforce.

Childcare: Costs

Baroness Chapman of Darlington: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure childcare is (1) accessible, and (2) affordable, in particular for low-income families.

Baroness Barran: Improving parents’ access to affordable, flexible childcare is a government priority. In July, the department announced measures to increase take-up of childcare support and reduce the costs and bureaucracy facing providers. This included consulting on changing staff-to-child ratios for two-year-olds in group-based settings and clarifying flexibilities for childminders, to give providers more autonomy.The department announced additional funding of £160 million in 2022/23, £180 million in 2023/24, and £170 million in 2024/25, compared to the 2021/22 financial year, for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers.The department also announced a £1.2 million marketing campaign underway via the Childcare Choices website to ensure that every parent knows about the government-funded support they are eligible for. The campaign has driven a significant increase in traffic to the Childcare Choices site, and an increase in referrals for Universal Credit, Tax-Free Childcare, and 30 hours entitlements.The department extended eligibility for the disadvantaged two-year-old entitlement to families with no recourse to public funds, subject to income thresholds that are broadly equivalent to those for families who are able to access benefits.We continue to work across government to look at ways to make childcare more affordable and to encourage families to use the government-funded support they are entitled to.

Department for Education: Political Impartiality

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask His Majesty's Government how many staff have been reprimanded for inappropriate political activity given the nature of their employment at (1) the Department for Education, (2) Ofqual, (3) Ofsted, and (4) each of the Executive Agencies for which the Secretary of State for Education is the Minister, in each of the last five years.

Baroness Barran: In the last five years, no employees of the department or its Executive Agencies have been reprimanded for inappropriate political activity.

Department for Education: Photographs

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask His Majesty's Government how many separate digital photographs have been taken at public expense of the Secretary of State for Education since 7 September this year.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask His Majesty's Government how many separate digital photographs are currently stored by the Department for Education of those individuals who have held the post of Secretary of State for Education since 15 September 2021.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask His Majesty's Government when each of the Ministers in the Department for Education were last photographed either by, or on behalf of, the Department for Education.

Baroness Barran: Four digital photographs of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, were taken since 7 September 2022. These were welcome photos featuring the department’s Permanent Secretary for use on the internal staff intranet. These were all taken in-house at no cost. Four photos were additionally taken for use on social media.Since 15 September 2021, approximately 20 photos of those who have held the post of Secretary of State for Education are currently stored by the department’s social media team.Regarding the most recent photography captured with the department’s ministers, the dates are as follows:Welcome photographs of the Secretary of State on 7 September 2022.Welcome photographs of my hon. Friend, the Minister for Schools and Childhood, on 8 September 2022.Photograph of the department’s ministerial team at an all-staff meeting on 22 September 2022.Photograph of my hon. Friend, the Minister for School Standards, on a school visit on 6 October 2022. These photos were taken in-house at zero cost for use on our staff intranet and social media channels. Photos of the department’s ministerial team that are featured on gov.uk are provided by Parliament.

Ministry of Justice

Coroners

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government what stepsthey are taking to implement the recommendations they outlined in The Coroner Service: Government Response to the Committee’s First Report, published on 10 September 2021 (HC 675).

Lord Bellamy: The Government continues to work with stakeholders to make inquests more sensitive to the needs of bereaved families, who remain at the heart of the coroner service.We are therefore committed to implementing the six Justice Committee recommendations which we accepted in our response to its First Report on the Coroner Service. To this end, we have already included in the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 a suite of measures aimed at streamlining processes in the coroner’s courts and supporting the Chief Coroner’s post-pandemic recovery plans. A further provision makes it easier for coroner areas to merge, as recommended by the Justice Committee.Following the recommendation that we should improve access to the Guide to Coroner Services for Bereaved People, we are assessing how best to ensure availability in light of user needs.We are also considering ten further recommendations made to Government, as outlined in our response, and will take forward any appropriate action as soon as practicable.

Courts

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the backlog of court cases.

Lord Bellamy: The Government is committed to supporting the recovery of the courts and our decisive action kept justice moving during the pandemic. Now that barristers have returned to work, we can work together to drive down the backlog and ensure victims see justice served sooner.To increase capacity in the Criminal Justice System, we have removed the limit on sitting days in the Crown Court for the second year in a row and extended 30 Nightingale courtrooms beyond the end of March 2022. Over the next three financial years, we are investing an extra £477 million for the Criminal Justice System to help improve waiting times for victims of crime and address the Crown Court backlog.Over the next three financial years we are also investing £324 million to further improve waiting times in the civil and family courts, and tribunals. In July 2022, we introduced a Virtual Region pilot scheme to support civil and family courts in London and the South East. In March 2021 we launched the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme to encourage people to resolve their disputes outside of court where safe and appropriate to do so.Across all jurisdictions, we are recruiting more judges to enable us to sit at the maximum possible level over the coming years.

Probation: Costs

Lord Blunkett: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Bellamy on 20 September (HL2073), what estimate they have made of the cost to the Exchequer of the delayed release of prisoners to whom the policy outlined in that answer applies.

Lord Bellamy: The Written Answer provided on 20 September 2022 (HL2073) confirmed that the reconsideration mechanism, which permits the Secretary of State or the prisoner to apply to the Parole Board for its provisional decision to be reconsidered, has not introduced significant delays or associated additional costs to the Exchequer, when it comes to the process for implementing release directions made by the Parole Board.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Conflict Resolution: Females

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the development of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) National Action Plan's (1) Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning programme, and (2) tracking of WPS spend; and what is the deadline for its completion.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK is currently developing its fifth Women, Peace and Security (WPS) National Action Plan (NAP), 2023-27 which will be finalised by the end of 2022.The NAP will set out how we will put women and girls at the centre of our work on conflict and security. It will include a monitoring and evaluation framework that enables us to better understand the impact of UK Official Development Assistance and our foreign policy and diplomacy in fragile and conflict affected contexts.HMG does not have a dedicated budget to support the NAP. However, multiple cross government funds support Women Peace and Security objectives. Additionally, from April 2022 all Conflict, Stability and Security Fun (CSSF) projects will be assessed using a new Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Marker.In 2020 (the latest available year for ODA reporting), 6% of ODA funded CSSF programmes (£36 m) had gender as a main objective, while 65% (£348m) of programmes had a significant gender component.

Armenia: Armed Conflict

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment theyhave made of the (1) civilian, and (2) military, casualties of recent attacks by Azeri forces in Armenia; and what steps they are taking to ensure that all parties adhere to the terms of the ceasefire.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In calls with Armenian Foreign Minister Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Bayramov on 15 and 17 September respectively, the Minister of State for Europe, Minister Docherty, expressed condolences for the loss of life on both sides, while also reinforcing the need for a cessation of hostilities and a return to substantive negotiations to settle all outstanding matters between the parties. The Government has been clear that any targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure is unacceptable, and will continue to work with both parties in the coming months to support efforts to secure regional stability and security.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Homosexuality

Lord Lexden: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byBaroness Goldie on 17 October (HL Deb col 952), how manyservice personnel discharged or dismissed before 2000 for homosexual conduct that was legal in civilian life forfeited their full pension rights; and what plans they have to restore their full rights.

Baroness Goldie: Defence recognises and accepts that the policy that homosexuality was incompatible with Service life was unacceptable and that its LGBT+ veteran community suffered as a consequence. As part of the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan 2022-2024, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (part of the Cabinet Office) co-commissioned Lord Etherton PC Kt QC to chair an independent review into the impact of this policy. Once completed, Lord Etherton will send a report containing his recommendations to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and The Secretary of State for Defence. The Government will then decide what action to take. The MOD is not aware of any instances in which the accrued right to a pension has been forfeited because of the member’s sexual orientation; Service personnel dismissed or discharged in respect of their sexuality retained their accrued pension rights. There are no provisions of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme which are discriminatory on the basis of a member’s sexuality. Accordingly, it is not possible in law to amend the scheme rules so that they have retrospective effect. As there is no existing discretion in the Armed Forces pension rules to retrospectively deem pensionable service to have been given in order to provide for additional pension entitlement, they are not an appropriate vehicle for financial compensation.

Department for Work and Pensions

Food Banks

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely resilience of food banks during the upcoming winter.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: There is no consistent and accurate measure of foodbank usage at a constituency or national level, including any assessment on foodbank resilience. The Department for Work and Pensions introduced a set of questions into the Family Resources Survey (FRS) to measure and track foodbank usage in April 2021. The first results of these questions are due to be published in March 2023 subject to usual quality assurance. Our commitment to include questions in the Family Resources Survey show how seriously we take this issue; the data is vital to ensure we understand the full picture

Healthy Start Scheme

Baroness Boycott: To ask His Majesty's Government by what datethe Department for Work and Pensions will resume the sharing of Healthy Start take-up data with the Department for Health and Social Care.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: DWP are working with DHSC to make data available by the end of 2022.

Home Office

Migrant Workers: Skilled Workers

Lord Green of Deddington: To ask His Majesty's Government how many entry clearance visas grants they provided to main applicants under the (1) Skilled Worker, and (2) Skilled Worker - Health & Care, routes for each quarter of the year up to June; and for each route, how many were issued for jobs at (a) RQF Level 6, (b) RQF Levels 3 to 5, and (c) RQF Level 3.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Applications granted to main applicants of the ‘Skilled Worker’ visa  QuarterGrants2020 Q44292021 Q14,5532021 Q26,6822021 Q311,7622021 Q412,6022022 Q112,7012022 Q214,844Total63,573 Applications granted to main applications of the ‘Skilled Worker – Health & Care’ visa  QuarterGrants2020 Q46892021 Q16,7712021 Q25,8152021 Q38,6842021 Q410,5302022 Q112,4112022 Q215,646Total60,546 There is no published data that links the entry clearance visas granted in these categories to the respective RQF classifications.

European Arrest Warrants: Republic of Ireland

Lord Desai: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to resolve the discrimination identified in the High Court case Minister for Justice and Equality v Harrison [2020] IEHC 29.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The judgement in this case relating to the extradition of an individual was issued by the High Court in Ireland and it is not for the Government to comment.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Liverpool City Council

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the terms of reference of the Strategic Futures Advisory Panel of Liverpool City Council.

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the full membership of the Strategic Futures Advisory Panel of Liverpool City Council; how those members were appointed; and whether those members receive a salary.

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government how local elected councillors engage with the Strategic Futures Advisory Panel of Liverpool City Council; whether meetings are open for attendance by elected councillors; and whether the minutes of meetings are publicly available.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: On 18 August the Liverpool Strategic Futures Panel was announced. The independent Panel will work alongside Liverpool City Council and their Government appointed Commissioners. The intention of the Panel is to craft a plan for the future with a particular focus driving growth in skills, jobs and opportunities, that stretches beyond the current temporary intervention. Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram was invited to meet with Baroness Blake of Leeds and Sir Howard Bernstein to agree a Terms of Reference and membership for the Panel. We are working closely with Mayor Rotheram's team and will make an announcement in due course to confirm appointments, a Terms of Reference, any remuneration of Panel members and how the Panel will operate, including how elected members from Liverpool City Council engage with the Panel and its work.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Government

Lord Rogan: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister will participate in direct talks with the local political parties in Northern Ireland before 28 October.

Lord Caine: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has met and continues to meet all the Parties in the Executive. This will continue in advance of 28 October. The Secretary of State has made clear that there is no reason not to have a fully functioning Executive. The Government continues to urge the parties to form an Executive before the deadline of 28 October when the Secretary of State will fall under a duty to call a fresh election.

Teachers: Trade Unions

Lord Rogan: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had since September with trade unions representing teachers in Northern Ireland in the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive.

Lord Caine: The Northern Ireland Office has not met any trade unions representing teachers. Education policy is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive. While there is not an Executive in place at present, the Northern Ireland Education Minister remains in post and as such has responsibility for engaging with trade unions. We continue to engage with local parties and urge them to reform an Executive to tackle the issues affecting Northern Ireland, including education.

Treasury

Bank of England: Government Securities

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps theyare taking to ensure market confidence in response to the Bank of England’s announcement that its emergency bond-buying intervention will end on Friday 14 October.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Chancellor of The Exchequer on Monday 17 October brought forward a number of measures. These represent another down payment following the reversal of the corporation tax cut announced on Friday 14 October by the Prime Minister. Following conversations with the Prime Minister, the Chancellor has taken these decisions to ensure the UK’s economic stability and to provide confidence in the Government’s commitment to fiscal discipline. The Chancellor made clear in his statement that the UK’s public finances must be on a sustainable path into the medium term. The Government is prepared to act decisively and at scale to regain the country’s confidence and trust. The Chancellor stated in his speech that there will be more difficult decisions to take on both tax and spending. This means doing what is needed to lower debt in the medium term and to ensure that taxpayers’ money is well spent, putting public finances on a sustainable footing. In light of this, Government departments will be asked to find efficiencies within their budgets. The Chancellor will publish the government’s fiscal rules alongside an OBR forecast, and further measures to put the public finances on a sustainable footing, on 31 October.

Financial Services

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what recent stepsthey have taken to determine whether the financial sector presents too great a risk for the UK economy and regulatory structures to bear.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Government actively monitors the financial sector and any risks to financial stability and the UK economy more widely. It continues to work closely with the regulators, including the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, to assess risks and where appropriate coordinate a response with them. The regulators are working with firms to improve their resilience to market shocks, and it is a focus of government to ensure that we have a robust regulatory system. The UK financial sector remains resilient and well capitalised – ensuring it can continue to support households and business and play an important part in the UK economy.